Got Journey?

My journey to a healthier body has been a slow race with many false starts and getting lost along the race route. In December 2004 I was 245 pounds. I reached  goal weight in October 2010 I was 157.  My journey was slowed down because of the many false starts. I would start the race and hear a whistle and start the race all over again. The term yo-yo dieter described me and my journey felt like I was lost in October 2011 I weighed 233.

I know I am a stress eater. I ate whether I was glad, sad, or mad.   Tracie Miles said in her book Stressed-Less Living: Finding God’s Peace in Your Chaotic World babies quickly learn that eating makes them feel safe and loved. I have to admit I turned to food and not God. Overeating became my way to cope and my weight gain was imminent just like she said. I felt frustrated and I condemned myself. I was disappointed, discouraged, and disallusioned. 

Each day I thought I knew the race route. Today I will make the right choices, I will eat when I am hungry, stop when I am full, I will record my food, I will not lie or have food amnesia in my food journal. I will not overeat.

False starts occurred daily. I would start off strong in the morning, but there is something about the evening, my head hunger would rage and I would get lost. As my weight was going up I never thought to look for the way out of the maze. I never stopped gaining weight. I rationalized that it was water weight. As Tracie said, poor choices lead to more poor choices and all poor choices lead to stress. Stress lead to eating. Eating lead to weight gain, and weight gain lead to frustration and feelings of failure.

October 2011  I made a choice to enroll in a health class that would ultimately prepare me for surgery, I elected to have a gastric sleeve.  As a part of this class that lasted six months, I was required to lose ten percent of my weight. This was not an easy decision as I had to make a commitment to never drink carbonated beverages, alcohol. I made a commitment to exercise.

Becky Tirabassi wrote Change Your Life With The 8 Daily To Do’s. She states,  “Change begins with awareness.” One step in my journey to lose weight was to record my food in a journal and not have food amnesia.

Dr. Nick Yhpantides is another person I met along my race route. In one of his lectures in 2010, he said, “The Lord said to be a temple of the Holy Spirit not a cathedral.” 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17. He also said you have to “Change the way you see before you can change the way you look.” I needed to turn to God with my stress, my worries, my heartache not to food. Food is fuel not the solution to my problems.

On July 28, 2012 I had my gastric sleeve. I have lost ninety eight pounds since October 2011. I am 135 pounds. Two pounds from losing one hundred pounds. I have completed the race. The victory flag has been waived. Or is the race over?  The work is daily turning to God and not to food. I still record what I eat, I still exercise, I still daily forgive and give, I still pray and read God’s word. My joints are better, I still struggle but I do not turn to food. I remember that the good work He began in me, He will complete. Philippians 1:6

Will you join me in the daily race not as a thin person but as the woman God wants us to be healthy, creative,  and loving?